Hope: A Bandage for the Heart
by carrieboohere
Summary: Care: The Guardian of Nurturing. She is a Nature Spirit; the girl who could see what others couldn't. What could she see? As she enters the home of the Guardians of Childhood, she sees she is different. They say she's supposed to defeat Fear himself. But her doubt misguides her, causing her to flee from what she didn't want. What could she do? Keep Hope.
1. Chapter 1

Care's POV:

I dove into the ocean, ignoring the shrill cries passengers screamed out to me. I only had one thing on my mind: I had to get them back. I had to get the ones I care about back. Not again. It can never happen again. I felt the pain in my heart spread to my chest, making my coughing grow harder.

I could see flashes everywhere. I could see the man and woman coming back home, their children waiting for them; their children anticipating the return of their parents. The two children, a toddler and an infant, crowded next to a family of three, a mother and her two children. The woman soothed each of the two as they whined and cried, wanting their parents to come home sooner.

Their parents never came back.

I dragged each of the children's hands to the shore, and latched them onto a board floating around in the cold water. I dove back in, with the fur pulling me down. I ignored it, and kept on swimming to the quickly disappearing hand of my little brother. I grabbed his hand, and dragged him up to the air too. I felt my lungs fill with more of the salty water, and I gasped for air. I broke the surface, and the boats were coming our way. I pushed Albert onto a wooden raft, and shoved him the opposite direction of the boat, pushing myself towards it.

The horns blared, and I was pulled down into the deepest part of the ocean again. I clawed at my throat, struggling to breathe. Unbuttoning the vest, I tried to climb up the wall of air to the surface, only to get pulled down by darkness. Fear enveloped me, and I started to panic. _What if-what if Albert falls? What if this was for nothing? _I push myself harder, and whimper, the binds of Fear wrapping around me like a soothing blanket. I shook my head of the thoughts raging like the waves of this shipwreck, and so I just.

Let.

Go.

I was dying. I could feel it in my soul. I was slowly dissolving, and I could see the water clearing up more, until it turned to total darkness. At least I was able to save him. At least I was able to make sure he was safe.

I was dead.

* * *

300 Years Later- Care's POV:

"Wake up, child," I heard, and my eyes fluttered open to see a broad-shouldered man with a huge beard, and his blue eyes sparkling with curiosity and wonder. Two huge swords were glittering; strapped to his back, and there was a teenage guy next to him, with spiky brown hair and warm brown eyes. He had a brown cloak that flowed down to right below his shoulders, and a white shirt that was down to his wrists. He had on fur leggings, with no shoes on. I looked at him with my head cocked to the side, and he looked back at me with laughter and happiness glittering in his warm brown eyes. He reminded me of someone I knew, but the pictures were so blurry. I couldn't remember anything anymore. All I knew was that I shouldn't be here. All I knew was that I was supposed to be dead.

"S-shouldn't you be cold?" I stuttered, and immediately shivered at the cold breeze in the icy climate. The man with the swords looked at the boy with surprise in his eyes, and he turned back to me before enveloping me in a blanket. "W-what're you doing?!" I shrieked, and draped it over the boy with my teeth chattering. "He should be c-cold!" I protested, and the boy looked at me with pure surprise in his eyes. "You have p-pretty brown eyes..." I murmured, and the boy's eyes widened again.

"I don't _have _brown eyes." He argued, giving me back the blanket. I could feel my cheeks turn into a purplish color because of the cold, but I gave him a warm smile after giving him the blanket, before seeing a seal struggling to be freed by an orca whale. I started to stumble to the scene, with my legs shaky without using them for a while. I fell on my face in front of the whale, and the seal yelped before being dragged into the ocean. My eyes widened, and crimson gushed out to the surface. I could still see the seal's eyes with fear, and I dove in.

The orca was thrashing it around, much to the seal's hurt and protest. I pulled her from the whale's tight grasp, and she cowered in my arms. I started to swim back to the surface, and after I released the seal onto the icy ground, the whale bit down on my ankle, making me cry out in pain. I was dragged back down, and I started to struggle again. I couldn't die again. I had to save it.

A greenish goldish light glowed deep within me, and the orca was flown up to the surface, making me fly up with it. It slammed down on the ice, with a hoarse moan before staying motionless. I started back to it, and let out a squeak to find it was dead. I started to tremble, and I could hear someone's cold voice in my mind.

_What you fear most... I see. You fear that you'll not go up to expectations... that you're going to be too late. _The voice laughed, and it stopped before black sand exploded from the whale's carcass. _I see that you have a _rare_ fear, indeed. Not many may think of things that way... A tasty fear, I would say. _The blackened sand formed into a man, causing the seal to leap behind me, and the other two humans to rush towards us. The man had cold golden eyes, and I clenched my fists at the sight of his horrible aura around him. The boy with brown eyes lightly rested his hand on my shoulder, and guided me away from him. Before I could turn around, I saw the image of my death played in my head. _Don't you ever wonder- what could've happened if you hadn't saved your poor little brother? He could've died- yet you lived a perfectly happy life without him. He would be watching you with a sad face, watching the life that he could never have..._

"Get out of my head!" I screamed at him, making a gold and green aura swirl around me, and the seal cowering behind the old man with the swords. I looked at him with anger-filled eyes, but they were emptied immediately when I saw a figure. Who was he? Was I supposed to know who he was? Was he who the man was talking about? "Who...who are you?" I muttered, before I collapsed on my knees, at his small level. I couldn't see him anymore. He wasn't really there- he had died long ago.

I saw flashes in my mind of the boy jumping around, chiding for me-a girl who was my age- to go faster, wanting me to jog to the next door house. I heard the boy's voice 'C'mon Carrie, we'll be late!' I could see his chocolaty brown eyes stare into my green ones, urging me to laugh with him, to be happy with him. I saw myself crying alone on the steps of our house, when I was so much smaller. I could hear the wail of the baby boy as he was swimming in the icy cold sea of denial and despair. I felt all of these things, all of these memories; come back to me like falling off a horse into the ground. I felt myself fall forward, my eyes closing and my tears falling from my eyes. _Who was he? _

The last thing I remember was the boy's eyes turning from a brown to an icy blue.


	2. Chapter 2

Care's POV:

"Should we wake her up... " I heard to my right, and the voice sounded very worried.

"Nah, the ankle-biter's been buried in a block of ice and water for centuries. I think she'd want some sleep." An Australian accented voice said to my left, and I started to stir. I felt sand start to shift, and I saw my younger brother and I playing together. I could feel tears prick my eyes, tears of frustration, of sadness, of pain. _Who was he? Why couldn't I remember?_ I shook myself awake, having enough of the memories that would only give me more pain. The voices immediately grew silent, and I felt pairs of eyes on me.

"North, she's awake!" The winged girl exclaimed, and smiled at me. I smiled shyly back, then looked to my left. The other voice belonged to a huge rabbit, who had triangular shaped wooden objects strapped to a belt. There was a plump man, with a golden robe made of sand next to the rabbit.

I heard arguing in another room, and I started to walk towards it. My hand on the knob, and I was about to turn it before I heard shouting at the other side.

"North, she saw my human form! She can see through me! Aren't you worried that she could see all of us?!" A man, or boy shouted in frustration.

"We need to give her a chance. The Moon chose her, so we need to welcome her." The other man; most likely North; stated calmly. I turned the knob all the way, quietly slipping in.

"Uh... e-excuse me... um..." I started quietly, and the man North and the teenage boy turned to me, clearly surprised of my appearance there.

"Welcome, to the North Pole!" The man North bellowed, enveloping me in a hug. I squirmed in his tight embrace, and wriggled out quickly before the others came in.

"There she is! She has such shiny teeth! I'm clearly surprised, because when it was the Colonial Times, people didn't-_mmf_!" The fairy faltered, when the plump man taped her mouth shut with sand shaped like tape. I looked at the both of them with wide eyes, and clutched on the tip of my dark braid, tugging on it lightly. It was a weird habit that occurred when I was nervous, though it would only result to my foster mother to stress on the belief that I would go prematurely bald.

"U-um..." I stuttered, surprised at their behavior. "I... My n-name is Caro-" I stopped, and frowned. _I didn't know where that came from. What would I have said? Carolyn? Caroline? _The last name had a certain ring to it, though it only made my chest ache even more. _No. I'm not using that name. Never again. _"C-Care..." I shyly murmured, and the rabbit smiled warmly at me.

"You're a shy little chap, mate." He smirked, and I blushed faintly before he laughed cheerfully.

"You must know who we are, right?" The man North spread out his arms, motioning to all of them. I looked at the end of the circle, to see the boy with the icy blue eyes and white cropped hair. He returned my gaze, but I looked away quickly.

"N-no..." I stammered nervously, and the fairy smiled gently before patting my head. I took a liking into the woman; she was soft and kind, yet fun-loving and energetic. I looked at the man with the long white hair, since he would start.

"I'm North, or as others would say: Santa Claus!" The man North cheered, sending my legs scurrying back from the outburst.

"Don't scare her, North!" The fairy shrieked in alarm, and patted my shoulder gently. "Don't worry, he won't hurt you. He just has a huge amount of energy!" She stated, glaring at the smiling North. He shrugged, and smiled cheekily; like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. I smiled gently, because his behavior reminded me of my brother. More flashes that made my head spin rushed through my mind like a galloping horse, and so I only closed my eyes, looking down at the ground frustrated.

"The short man is Sandman, or what he prefers; Sandy."

"Hi Sandy..." I started softly, kneeling down so I could see the faint golden eyes of the robed man. He smiled, and a picture of smiles fluttered over his head, and he pointed straight to me. I smiled, and he clapped. I stifled a laugh, and I hugged my knees before sitting down on the floor. He sat down next to me, and he danced around me, making sand litter everywhere. The sand started to shift together, and Albert appeared. He was happy, and he bowled me over in a hug. I looked at the small figure surprised, but then slowly pushed him away. "Please-please don't." I mumble, and hug myself, my bangs falling over my eyes so they couldn't see the tears brimming my eyes.

"I'm the Tooth Fairy, or for short, Tooth." She smiled at me, making me smile gently back at her. She giggled at my teeth, and North had to pull her away before she could rummage through my mouth.

"I'm the-" The rabbit with the triangular wood things started, but the other boy interrupted.

"The huge kangaroo is the Easter Bunny. You can tell from his accent, right?" He looked at me with a cheerful smirk, and I laughed, while the Easter Bunny scowled.

"What's his name though?" I started, and the Easter Bunny shoved the blue-eyed boy into a closet before locking it, and turning back.

"My name is Bunnymund, but I'm called Bunnymund or Aster, either is alright. The boy with the frostbite is Jack." Bunnymund stated with a scowl. I tilt my head to the side, and so I smile, amused slightly and a little fascinated in his markings over his fur.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Bunnymund." I say softly, letting a smile creep over my lips. I felt like I knew him from somewhere. I know that there were many rabbits and hares that went by our village and my house when we were little; I was always satisfied to be able to pet one of them.

"Whatcha thinkin' 'bout, sheila?" Bunnymund asked, gently poking my forehead with his paws. I jump, and let out a nervous giggle, rubbing my arm.

"I-I just thought of rabbits that one of my friends would catch, he would always want us to pet it and name it with him. We kinda felt like all of the animals were our friends; so I wanted to protect them. Then hunting season came, and so we found our 'friends' on our dinner plates." I whispered the last part, and fiddled with my hands in my lap. "I-it was kinda weird, it was all furry and-" Bunnymund patted my head softly, and smiled down at me.

"It seems like you've gone through quite a bit, sheila." He smirked at me, and I looked up at him. "You see, the man in the moon told us that you're one of us now. We help each other. So, we'll help you." He finished, making my eyes widen in surprise.

"O-oh! I-It wasn't 'quite a bit', though, i-it wasn't like-" I was interrupted in my hurried excuse by a chuckle of the bunny's, and so I only smiled bashfully, slowly letting myself relax. As I looked over to the Easter Bunny, I froze, seeing something different. Instead of the huge 6-foot rabbit with the boomerangs, I saw a cute little bunny with big eyes and soft fur. I did something that really surprised the both of us. I scooped him up in a hug, and squeezed him tightly in a hug.

"Y-you're so adorable!" I squealed, burying my head in his fur. I heard Tooth the fairy snickering lightly, while the boy Jack and North burst out laughing. Sandy was surprised, then smiled.

I let go of him quickly, seeing the other version of him gone. "I-I-I'm _so_ sorry!" I shrieked, and scrambled backwards. His face was a light shade of pink, and mine immediately started to redden.

"Why'd you hug me, sheila?" He stammered, and I blushed more before mumbling the answer.

"Y-you had soft fur, and was about the size of both my hands cupped together. You looked... Different." I stuttered, and both Jack's and his eyes widened.

"Never mind that..." North stated, and my cheeks started to pale again. I felt an urge to go to the balcony, and so I excused myself quietly before rushing to the balcony. Looking down, I saw crystal like ice, that shimmered different colors whenever the sun shined on them. I looked over to my right, and I saw Jack looking at me with a smile that looked knowingly, but also sad. Like he remembered an unwanted memory.

"H-hello..." I started softly, and he smiled back before sitting on the balcony next to me.

"Hey," he replied, and leaned on his staff for support. I could still see his icy blue eyes, but they were warmed with chocolaty brown. I smiled, and looked at him. "Here, I wanna show you something." He stated before grabbing my hand gently and jumping off the balcony. I yelp, my eyes widening and tears springing to my eyes.

"P-put me back down." I whisper, clutching onto his hoodie that was iced with frost. He looked at me confused, then slightly scared for me. "P-Please put me down!" I cry, my fists tightening in his shirt. When he nods and obeys me, I leave my trembling fingers to the balcony, closing my eyes. _I wasn't in the air anymore. I am not high up._ Opening my eyes, I let out a soft cry of relief, seeing that there was something underneath me. I breath heavily, and see the boy next to me.

"D-did I do something wrong?" He stutters, clearly not used to this. I shake my head, and smile faintly at him.

"I just don't like heights." I say softly, hugging myself as I take a look at the scenery again, desperate to get the fear out of my mind. "I always had dreams when I was little, about falling from the sky. People called me an 'angel', from my color of eyes and unusual appearance. So, they said I fell from Heaven to Earth. Unfortunately, they didn't know that I was deadly afraid of heights, so I usually had nightmares from then on. It was a weird nickname people called me at the time." I chuckle, and then lean against the railing.

"But it's fine. Because I'm no angel. I couldn't save the people I loved. I let them die. So I'm no savior." I say softly, then stretch as I push myself off the railing, and walk back to the workshop with an utterly befuddled Jack behind me.


	3. Chapter 3

Care's POV:

For the next few weeks, I took a sanctuary in Bunnymund's place, helping him whenever he could, and took training from North and Jack for my powers. Since I was the guardian of Nature, and I was able to unsheathe the sword, apparently I was supposed to overcome Fear itself.

Clangs sounded out over the clash of the swords, and sparks flew when I drew my golden sword that gleamed like the sun. The sword would create cracks in the earth that could create a continent, if I please. My hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, and I was sparring North with my normal attire, a school uniform like outfit with the main colors of green and gold. He was with his twin katanas, while I had my massive sword.

The other Guardians watched us, their heads darting back and forth between us, like a ping pong match. Jumping from a wall, I flipped over North, holding the sword to his throat. I gasped for a little breath, but took my sword back, strapping it on my back. When North stepped back, half of his beard fell to the floor in clumps, and he made a jolly laugh, before the rest of us joined him.

I made my home with the Guardians, thinking of them as family. I just didn't know what to do with Jack. He got my stomach in knots, and he... he just made me go out of my mind when I looked at him, when our fingers touched, or anything. It wasn't that I was interested in him. I couldn't be. He was too achingly familiar, like a missing limb. It seemed like I was missing a part of me from my old life...but... I didn't know if I didn't _want_ to know my old life. I just didn't know. I don't know what to do.

Walking out of the workshop, and into the stables, I petted the reindeers' necks, and smiled and fed them oats and carrots. "You're just like little horses, but more..." I couldn't think of a word, but a new voice helped me through it.

"Gnarly?" Bunnymund offered, leaning against the stall wall. I turned around, and looked at him startled. "Sorry, just wanted to see you." He said with a smirk and chuckle. I softened my gaze, looking away before pulling out the ribbon, letting my hair flow to my waist. Shaking my head to let it be free, I only nodded at him.

"Yes. Alright. What was it?" I asked softly, looking at him curiously. He smiled a little with his whiskers twitching, his eyes gleaming with joy and a little hope, his muzzle twitching as if he was trying to say something but couldn't find the words, or the courage, to do so.

"How 'bout we go... see somethin'. Alright?" He offered, and I blushed madly before nodding.

"A-Alright." I sputtered, and then cursed myself for doing so.

With a chuckle, he made a huge stride with his paws and took me in his arms, covering his head Alright. Sooo what I wanted to show you was..." He closed my eyes with his paws, covering them. I immediately pulled my hands out in front of me, searching everywhere for something to lean on for support. When I heard the tap of his huge foot against the wood, I squealed as he wrapped his hand around my waist, bounding easily into another cavern. I could tell it was underground by the familiar scent that wafted around us.

"This pond." Feeling his hands retract as he uncovered my eyes, I gasped as I tilted my head up, my cheeks flushing as I saw his head was rested atop my own.

"I-it's so...colorful." I whisper, looking to the pond of liquid that was a mix of blue and a violet pink, like some of the yogurts that I saw Sophie eat sometimes for a snack. "Blue, Green, Purple...Pink... How many shades of blue are in here?" I giggle and kneel down next to the pond, tracing a soft finger over the surface, smiling as it ripples over the surface of the swampy water.

"I'm glad ya like it, Care." He says softly, and my cheeks flush lightly, seeing that it was the first time he had called me by my name.

"M-Mm." I stutter, then smile faintly, then see droplets of the water fling onto my nose, making me sneeze and giggle. "Oi!" I squeal, then blush out of embarrassment. "Bun do I have something on my nose?" I ask, turning to the rabbit who was scooping up and egg and dipping it into the water.

"Eh?" He turned to look at me, then almost dropped the egg that he was painting with a lot of concentration. His eyes were wide and his tail twitched, making me giggle a little, though I scrunched up my nose, trying to get the paint off. "C-crikey." He muttered something else, his ears twitching along with his whiskers as he stared at me, so I only blinked, confused.

"B-bun, did you say something?" I question curiously, though also worried as I then feel a soft, cold breeze but ignore it for the time being. When Bunnymund says his statement again, he looked away immediately and tried to look for something to wipe off the paint as soon as he said those two words:

"T-that's cute."

* * *

Care's POV:

After we spent hours just talking and painting the eggs around us, Bun stopped, and then burst out laughing, immediately covering his muzzle and whiskers with his paws, quickly looking away. "C-Crikey, you didn't notice before?!" He stifled a laugh with a cough and grunt, making his whiskers twitch again, along with his nose. I giggle at how adorable it was, and gently flick his nose, causing him to sneeze with his eyes squeezed shut. "Oi! I'm only tryin' ta help ya, Care!" He whined, then pointed to my feet, which were dipped in the colored water for some time, it seemed.

"O-oh!" I squeak out in bemusement, and then giggle sheepishly, lifting my feet up and flicking some of the paint onto his fur, making him grunt and shiver in protest of the sticky liquid that coated his silvery azure fur.

"Oi! That ain't fair!" He protested, then smirked and pressed his paw into the water, before attacking my face, managing to put a full on paw print on each of my cheeks. My face now appeared to belong to a fish's as he did this, since my cheeks were smushed up by his paws.

"Buuuunnnn," I drag out his name, trying to wriggle my face from his grip, only to frustratingly have his paws slide up and down from my temples, to my cheeks, then my chin, repeating in that fashion.

"Hehehehehe." He grinned happily, making a mess of swirled colors on my cheeks and making me look like a Skittle. "Taste the Rainbow!" He cried, and then smiled cheekily as he then stopped, only to get pounced on. "Oi!" He whined, then his face scrunched up as he went rigid, his eyes wide as he saw what I was cupping.

"N-no! No don't ya dare ya cheeky sheila!" He pleaded with a gruff tone, and so I let my hands spread out, giving an innocent expression and shrugging.

"Whoops." I laughed as he started to twitch and squirmed, but I splashed him again with the paint, then leaping out of reach as he hopped up, his lips pulled down in a pout as he glared at me. For a few moments it was just bowling each other over in just paint and smushing each other's faces with our hands-or paws- but then I heard someone clear their throat. Slowly turning, my cheeks then started to flush deeply, as I saw who the person was.

"J-Jack."


	4. Chapter 4

Pitch's POV:

I gripped my hair as I watched the girl, my frown quivering and my eyes closed tightly. "Why do they invite others...but not me? I-I just want to be _loved_, and _seen,_ why can't they see that?!" I roar, a nightmare of mine whinnying skittishly and pawing at the ground. I let out a weary sigh, and so I just pat her neck gently, leaning my forehead against her crest of her neck, letting the grainy feeling of the sand sooth me. It was the one thing that wouldn't go through me, the one 'living' thing that wouldn't make me feel like I was invisible. Oh, but I was.

"Why does _she _get to be seen?!" I then hear my voice raise dangerously, and so I get away from the nervous horse, my eyes now angered and envious. "Why does _she _get to have everything she wanted?! Why does _she _get what I always wanted?" I then stop, and sigh softly as I lean against my chair in my palace, before closing my eyes, my brow furrowed.

"What would happen to her if I were able to take that all away?" I murmur, my eyes squinted shut but my thoughts lighting up with a blazing brightness. "Hm...her fear was not being able to save the people she loved... so what would happen if I hurt the person she loved?" After a moment, a small, sly smirk went across my face as I skimmed through the few amounts of people I knew that she cared about.

The Easter bunny. He wouldn't be simple, his senses were feral and not humane, like mine, so he would catch me before I could catch him. Then again, I would have the shadows at my advantage. Even so, he's always at the Warren, where there's too much of a bright and happy aura to appear from the shadows. Who else then?

Jack. He was simple to corrupt, his mind naive and his temper flaring at every angering statement. Sure, he _was _vulnerable, but I could use him as an insider. The white haired boy was close to the girl, yes; being a part of her missing old life was something that could shatter her. But was it a real fear that could give her the doubt and negative feelings; enough for the Guardians to have no choice _but _to abandon her?

Sandy. He was the man who was showing the brunette girl her dreams; the things she loved most of her old life. What was her biggest one? Was it the brunette boy who had moss colored eyes and dark hair, the same as her own? The boy's descendants would be hard to find, that's for sure, but would the pure reaction of me making the boy believe in such corrupt and horrid dreams that would drive her to guilt of her insanity, and try to claw her way back to humanity to make him _see _her, to make him _believe _like the little, immature and pure child he was, that she was there; the big sister that always had loved her younger brother, no matter how many times she tried to push him away from her new life.

I quickly shook my head; no, that would be too much trouble. There were so many children and only one to be the descendant-I couldn't just put fear into every single child and hope for the young Guardian to have that reaction to one child. It was too flawed.

Tooth she didn't know all too well, but would the guilt that knowing it was her fault come to play if she saw all of the little Toothlings of hers captured and squeezed? But if the other Guardians would allow this to happen is impossible; that plan would go right out of the window. She and the girl hadn't had many moments to bond; the hummingbird hybrid was too busy shoving her fingers over the other's neutral teeth to try and have an actual relationship with her, or so it seemed at the moment.

North and the girl's relationship was like a grandfather's to his grandchild; having a link to their relationship and the grandfather trying to spoil and please their child's offspring. Of course, the link that made them bond was their swords. Obtaining it after finding it in a cave in the warren, the girl was growing very used to it. It made me sick; how could a girl so young and-and inexperienced learn something so easily?

I rubbed my temples, and then sighed before looking around, then seeing the girl that diddle dawdled in between the three Guardians, her blonde hair bouncing and swaying as she giggled and tried to capture an egg that tried to scuttle away from the parading girl. My smile turned sinister as I thought of the petite girl; the girl whom all of the guardians loved and cherished. The girl that, if hurt, would shatter their hearts, turning them away from the Guardian that needed the nurturing the most, as she would be taking a slumber for the last time.

Sophie.

* * *

Bunnymund's POV:

I watched the blonde toddler try to capture a diversely painted egg in her chubby fingers, her feet twisting and going different ways as she saw others, her mind debating too slow in the argument of whether or not to chase after another. Her body decided on itself, as she started immediately to try and go chase all of them in the herd. A small laugh was heard from my left, and so I looked to the Nature Spirit with wide eyes, it being the first time I heard her laugh.

"W-what?" She asks, blinking a few times. "I think the girl's- oh, no, Sophie sweetie don't touch that!" The dark haired girl didn't finish her sentence, scrambling up and managing to pluck the girl off from the vines that coiled like springs, all the way up to the 60 feet steep ledge where the eggs appeared from. The green eyed girl held the child, giggling as she got more paint on her freckled cheeks as Sophie's fingers roamed her face, making the girl's face her personal coloring book.

"O-okay, okay I get it. You like my face." She smiles and giggles a little more, almost toppling back to the ground with the recoil of the girl. I chuckled, smearing the paint from my cheek to my paw as I got up, standing next to the smaller girl as she easily handled the smaller girl. "You're such a weird child, Sophie, I swear." She murmured, Sophie now reaching to the eggs, which surrounded Care like new bait. She rolled her eyes, bending down and picking up a few since she was careful not to let Sophie step on the poor shells, and so the girl set down the toddler, to see that her struggle was now gone, her body limp and her snores lightly heard.

"E-eh?" The younger Guardian started to stutter and looked to Jack, who only rolled his eyes and picked up the girl with one arm. Care made a strangled noise in the back of her throat, obviously tempted to reach out for the girl, wanting to hold her again herself; she was probably afraid that if he held her like that she would fall and crack her head open.

"She's asleep, you dummy." Jack teased, and gently bonked the top of her head with his loosely curled fist, Sophie dangling over his arm.

"Well she won't be just asleep if you're gonna keep holding her like that." I threaten, and take the blonde ankle biter, holding her in my arms tenderly and then smiling a little. "See? She's better laying down. It keeps the blood flow and stuff to her head too." I educated the two Guardians, who both raised their eyebrows at me, knowing that even though I spent time with Sophie, I still didn't know much about the concept of kids. "Well, if you aren't willing to then who-" I couldn't finish my demand, for Care held out her hands, a determined look on her face.

"Eh?" I looked to the girl, then stifled a chuckle at her multicolored cheeks and nose, so I slowly obey, before quickly trying to dab off a smidgen of the paint. She scrunched up her nose in reply, shying her face away from my paw with a soft, playful glare as she hefted Sophie onto her hip, smiling as her head fit snugly in the olive skinned girl's neck, her faint snuffles and noises of a clogged nose, due to allergies, filled the empty void of air as Care fumbled for the snow globe that she kept in her pocket of her jacket, then just looked to me hopelessly.

"You want me to come with? I think a few kids'll have a bit of a protest seeing a 6-foot bunny there, sheila." I point out, but she only takes my paw with her other hand, looking to me pleadingly. With a roll of my eyes, I slowly let out a huff of breath as I tap my foot twice, a hole forming under our feet.

"Shall we?"


End file.
